Situated along Jalan Kledek in the heritage Kampong Glam district, it is Singapore’s first Photography and Vintage camera museum and hosted in the world’s largest camera shaped building. While the museum showcases about 1,000 vintage cameras dating from the 19th century to modern times, the founders have more than 7,000 vintage cameras in their personal collection, which has taken them close to 20 years to amass.

A collection is not made overnight, especially a vintage camera collection. It takes years and sometimes a lifetime. You cannot be an impulsive buyer otherwise you might get burned. You go thru a process of learning like where to buy, what to buy, which cameras are highly collectibles which are not, what is the right or ideal price for a certain piece and so on. You have to be very careful not to go over your budget. You have to get information of the world market prices for vintage cameras.

To acquire something that is rare is like owning a treasure. But i suppose it gives more meaning as a collector if the collector can share this to other people for them to see and appreciate. For me, a collection, to be meaningful, should be shared with other people. If you keep it to yourself then you deprive yourself the respect you can gain from your passion and the knowledge other people could acquire from your collections.

Whilst exploring Taiwan last year, with my usual eye out for street art, I noticed a couple of those electricity boxes; the kind you don’t usually notice. I don’t know what the correct name for them is – Electricity transformer boxes or kiosks? Circuit boxes? Junction boxes? Electric utility boxes? Anyway, I’m talking about those boring-looking grey metal boxes that control the electricity supply to nearby buildings.

So, the reason I noticed them was that they were colourfully painted. And then I spotted more. You can’t miss these painted electrical boxes throughout Taiwan. They are virtually everywhere, and most commonly painted with landscapes or flowers. I’ve snapped a handful of them to share with you, during my walks around the city. Each box is painted on all sides. No two boxes are painted alike, although you will see recurring themes and color palates.

Permission for the street exhibition was given to brighten up Taiwan’s main streets. The only regulation was that the electricity warning sign couldn’t be painted over.